Another semester, and another year, has come and gone. Where did the time go? 

In anticipation of a quick semester (really a trimester), I reduced the amount of required projects to two, the circuit block and the hummingbird project. I had hoped this would allow more time for students to complete their personal projects during the remainder of the semester. In the end, I think they gained one day, as we lost a few days to graduation rehearsal, special schedules, and the like.

Nonetheless, it was a wonderful semester. Project ideas were creative and unique, many challenging students to reach into areas with which they were not familiar. While some students built upon concepts learned in earlier projects (i.e., building a simple circuit, using hummingbird) others involved the integration of Arduino, 3D design and printing, and laser cutting. While most students completed their projects, a couple are using recess, lunch, and any other break to make final revisions and enhancements. Here is a sampling of projects:

Below are two video clips showing student projects in action. In the first, one student 3D printed an existing model of a T-Rex, but he's modified it to allow for the integration of a servo motor and LED connected to an Arduino Uno. His code is written such that the press of a button starts a loop that will move the servo a given amount of degrees back and forth, while turning on the LED.

In the second video, another student demonstrates her Hummingbird controlled, light-sensing, servo driven nail-polisher. As she describes, it's not quite perfect, but does indeed show what can be done using these components and a bit of code.

I continue to be impressed by the ideas and creations of my students. As I always say, "Open the door, then get out of the way!"

I will re-evaluate the flow of this course for the fall of 2016. My struggle has been time and balance, feeling the need to front-load the course with some experiences in circuit making and robotics/coding, while allowing for enough quality time for students to work on a personal project. The process of ideation, prototyping, iteration, is essential for their learning journey. It is more important, I would argue, than their final product. If I believe this fully, then the course I design and implement should reflect the opportunity to experience this process in its entirety.

The semester has come to an end, and what a whirlwind it has been. Students completed three projects (Electrical, Mechanical and Robotic) and had just six class meetings with which to design, build, test and iterate on their personal project. 

As a result of the three initial projects, some students chose to expand or improve on one of these earlier works in their personal project phase. One student, for example, worked on a wooden version of the automaton as a gift for her father. 

A few students delved deeper into Hummingbird, this time using Duos in order to eliminate the tethering to the computer. They sent their Visual Programmer code to the Arduino on the other side of the board and powered their projects with battery packs. While one group found success in creating a distance sensing, object-avoidance car (hacking an existing RC car), the other group ran into some design and coding problems while trying to get a 3D printed boat to work in a similar manner. In the end, this latter group did not complete their project, but were able to show their code, their process and final build.

Finally, the remaining students worked on unique projects such as 3D designed and printed surf board fins, a water-based timer, and an LED lit iPhone case. One student, inspired by a previous student's light box project, designed a decorative box in 2D, laser cut and assembled it in wood, then 3D designed and printed a base. She then added two circuits, one for slow color changing LEDs, and another for an adjustable speed DC motor. Her final project is below. 

Once again, I enjoyed seeing the creativity, persistence, and ingenuity demonstrated by my students throughout the semester. The curriculum modification to four specific projects (including personal project) worked well, and I look forward to the spring semester. 

​For further details about student projects, please be sure to visit the Student Blogs section.

I cannot be sure exactly what factors are at play, but the complexity and variety of projects for this second session of Creator's Studio has impressed me. It is likely due to a combination of the following:

• Students in session 1 describing and displaying their projects;
• The expansion of tools in our arsenal;
• Our collective experience thus far this year in the use of PIRL;
• The inclusion of 8th graders in this second session;
• The academic growth of 7th graders since the beginning of the school year

Regardless of the reason(s), it is enjoyable to see students taking on these projects and witness the independence many have shown in working through challenging problem areas and attempting multiple iterations of models and scenarios. And yet students don't hesitate to seek help from me, or from classmates, where necessary and relevant. As I have said throughout the course, the process of designing, building, and iterating is as important (possibly more important) than the end product.

Here is a brief description of the current student projects:

• Name in Lights - Inspired by an Instructibles project, two students are creating either an initial or a word in large letter format and placing solar powered light bulbs inside. The letters are generated in Illustrator, converted to vector art, then modified to accommodate the placement of holes for the lights. Prototypes are laser cut in cardboard to make sure sizing and proportion are correct, then 1/8" plywood is used for the final pieces. The letters are painted and bulbs are hot glued into place. Students are also laser cutting wood boxes to place the solar chargers during use.
• LED Cube - Similar to a project from last session, a student is creating an illuminated cube that will serve as a decorative night light. The initial boxes are cut in cardboard for size testing, then laser cut in acrylic for final pieces. Acrylic pieces are sanded to give a diffused look. A simple circuit is created with LEDs, battery source and a switch.
• Remote Control Plane and Mousebot - One student is a great fan of the Makershed projects, and thus has taken on these two kit projects. It is interesting to see how some students lean toward proscribed step-by-step projects, while others may find something inspiring but add their own twist to it. Still others start with an original idea in their head and let their imagination guide them. All of these approaches are valuable.
• Wearables and E-Textiles, then a Way Out project - This student uses EL Wire and a battery pack to modify a t-shirt with lights. As the project turns out much easier and quicker than anticipated, the student quickly moves on to a 3D printed object (a Portal laser gun). She is now taking this object and integrating an LED circuit so that the tip of the laser gun will have actual light projected from it, triggered by a switch and powered by a watch battery. 
• Solar Powered iPhone Charger - This modification of the basic Minty Boost concept integrates a LiPO battery and portable solar panel to charge it. There is a bit of soldering to do on this one, so the student accesses our resource links on this site that point to tips on soldering.  I have found that having supplemental resources online, including our Course Instructional Videos, is  invaluable for providing support when I cannot reach each student during the class period.
• Motion Triggered Nerf Projectile - This student is building a platform using an Arduino and PIR sensor to trigger a nerf gun when a moving object passes a certain area. He originally wanted to have it track a moving object, but after some additional thought and research into the necessary code and hardware required, he opted for the current project.
• Remote Controlled Boats - Two students are working on different remote controlled boat projects. One is hacking an RC Car's parts, designing and printing the propeller in 3D, and working on prototype boat hulls with foam core. The other recently completed an underwater submarine project as part of the 3rd trimester science curriculum (DEEP) and thus wants to follow that up with the RC boat project. 
• 3D design and Printing - This student is exploring TinkerCAD for use in the area of aircraft and spacecraft design. He has designed two models thus far, with multiple iterations, and continues to work on new designs. With our new Makerbot Replicators now available, he is printing larger models.
• LED Matrix Sound Analyzer - Using an Arduino, a microphone and an LED matrix, this student's project involves a matrix of lights that reacts to sound coming through the microphone. First attempts have shown moderate success and he continues to adjust settings and dig deeper into the code.
• 3D Printer - This student has taken on the same project that I wrote about in the previous blog post, building the Printrbot Simple from the maker kit. While this is likely to be the most comprehensive project to date, he has spent each class diligently working through the build steps.

Below are some recent photos from a build day.

After months of experimenting with Arduino, I finally decided to delve into Raspberry Pi (RPi). This is definitely a different animal, as RPi is a true computer, not simply a microcontroller.

Here's the book that got me started, Raspberry Pi for Beginners. 

While the book is chock full of RPi resources, I actually had a challenging time simply getting started. My downfall was trying to configure the SD card from a Mac. Thus, after scouring the web for additional RPi tutorials, I eventually settled on Adafruit, which has an incredibly extensive library of tutorials here. 

Lesson #1 from Adafruit clearly explains what needs to be done to prepare the SD card from either Windows or Mac OS, including quick links to all the software packages. I installed Raspbian in a matter of minutes. The longest part of the process was waiting while data was written to the SD card.

The second challenge for me was finding a suitable HDMI ready monitor. While most current day monitors have built-in HDMI, older monitors do not. I had to create a work around using a DVI cable, and DVI-to-HDMI adapter in between. This didn't work on the first monitor I tried, but the boot up screen appeared on the second. For future RPi work, I will purchase an HDMI ready monitor.

Raspbian, like most Linux distros, has a very familiar feel to anyone used to Windows XP, or a Mac for that matter. There's a simple desktop with default applications like a web browser and terminal window, and a task bar at the bottom with commonly used program icons, time/date, and access to settings. This graphical user interface has become standard (discounting touch interfaces) in desktop computing. Students today using any of these operating systems (Mac, Windows, Linux) can quickly jump between them, often not even realizing they are working on a different OS.

Aside from all of the interesting physical computing projects that can be done (a la Arduino), the RPi can stand in as a versatile, inexpensive desktop computer. It is a bit slow by comparison, and I am still working to get Flash running on it, but for $35.00 it is a worthy alternative. For now I am using it as a second computer, exploring the Pi store, and getting to know Python. As you can see from the photo above, I decided to laser cut a box for it. Thanks again to Adafruit for the Pi box template.

As the first trimester comes to a close, and Creator's Studio adjourns until Spring, I have the opportunity to focus more time on professional development for the faculty at St. Matthew's. I will continue to blog here on PD activities as well as new personal projects with Arduino, Raspberry Pi, laser cutting, 3D printing, and more.

To introduce our faculty and staff to the new learning spaces, Creator's Studio and PIRL Terrace, I offered to guide those interested through a small project prior to the winter break. It is a holiday house, designed in Adobe Illustrator, cut on the laser cutter, and outfit with a simple circuit that allows the house to be illuminated from within. The workshop should take two sessions, but I am opening a third in case extra time is needed for final touches. There are about a dozen teachers that are participating in this first round, and an equal number will partake after the holidays. 

Below are pictures of the original house design, including the circuitry underneath that connects to an LED inside.

Session 1: House Design in Adobe Illustrator
I designed a very simple house in Illustrator using three colors, black for engraving, green for cutting, and yellow for the border. I chose to engrave shutters and shingles, while cutting out the door and windows. Since Illustrator and other vector-based programs like Inkscape can be intimidating applications, I wanted to provide a starting point from which my teachers could branch out and personalize, rather than start from scratch. While most are using this "template" to get started, some have chosen to make an object of their own, such as a chess board for the chess club, or a star ornament for the Christmas tree to be laser cut in acrylic. If you would like to see the original house design, you can download the Illustrator file here:

A few teachers have already sent me their modified houses for cutting this week. While I plan to have them experience the laser cutter in action for session 2, for sake of time, I have sent these projects through the cutter already. This allows participants to have personalized materials ready to work on when we meet again.

Session 2: Building the Circuit
Next week, I will guide participants through the creation of the circuit. After a brief overview of how a circuit works, teachers will build one using an LED, a switch, a watch battery, 22 gauge wire, wire cutters, and a soldering iron (optional).

With the circuit ready, and the house materials cut, teachers will build their holiday homes. More details and photos to follow next week.

It's hard to believe that the Thanksgiving break is coming so quickly, as it represents the end of this inaugural session. While some students have begun work on their second projects, others are still hammering through their first. We will work diligently to make sure that everyone completes at least one project.

During these most busy times, I can't emphasize enough how helpful it is to have other adults present in the room. Over the past few weeks a number of my colleagues, teachers and administrators, have paid a visit to Creator's Studio. If even for a few minutes, having another adult assisting is tremendous, and I am so grateful. When students are working on such varied topics simultaneously, my greatest challenge is to support all of them. Extra hands come in handy.

The pictures below depict how divergent our projects have become. From soldering kits like digital watches, to laser cut prototypes of model boats, to Arduino controlled RC cars, students are deep into their work.

To help students externalize their thinking process, and to hold all of us accountable during class, I created these task boards out of shower board left over from our mobile dry erase Z-Racks. The left overs allowed me to make 2' x 3' sheets (approx.), one for each student. Each day we meet, they take a few moments at the beginning to update their boards. Often, I will review these prior to class, and if there is something I know they will need to take on but haven't listed, I will comment on their board. The entire process helps us to sustain a solid workflow mindset.

As a last tidbit of news, I finally had time to research how to engrave and cut on a single laser cutter job. I haven't had any students create works like this yet (I hope the boat projects will do this), but will make time for it before the end of the session. We still have 3D printing to cover! 

Here's a quick project showing engrave and cut.

I haven't had much time lately to work on my own projects, but couldn't resist this one with Halloween coming up. This project is based on one from Adafruit, called the Superhero Power Plant. The original project uses Adafruit's Neopixel Ring, one FLORA neopixel, and a Gemma board. It also comes with downloadable artwork for laser cutting and engraving. Perfect timing!

I made small adjustments, switching out the Gemma board for a Trinket, which is what I had available. Think of the Trinket and the Gemma as tiny Arduinos, sort of. They aren't equipped with as many pins, and actually work a bit differently. For example, with an Arduino Uno, I can connect via the serial USB, send data to the board and receive data back. The Trinket doesn't allow for serial connection over the USB, and requires something called a Bootloader. If you'd like to learn more, see this Overview of Trinket from Adafruit's Learning System.

While there is a slight learning curve involved with getting Trinket to talk with the Arduino IDE, it was worth the time. The big advantages to Trinket (and Gemma) are size and cost. As you will see in the photos below, the Trinket is very tiny, and as of this writing, costs a mere $8.

I won't go over the tutorial, as that is available from the link above. I will say that it took some trial and error to get the soldering just the way it needed to be, and in the end I used a larger battery pack than what was stated as I knew the Trinket had a voltage regulator and could handle the extra input. Overall, a fun project!

After two months sitting in PIRL Terrace, the laser cutter got its first run. We purchased a 5th generation Full Spectrum Hobby Laser due to the good reviews and decent price for an entry level laser cutter.  As this was my first experience with technology of this type, I really didn't know what to expect. The initial set up was fairly pain free, but there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle beyond the cutter. I was a bit nervous while making sure the air compressor, the water pump and 5-gallon bucket, and the exhaust fan/hose were all set up correctly. I used BoxMaker online to download a test design of an interlocking box. You can see the results below. I added the two holes on top for pencils.

The students continued their work on individual projects this week. We were able to meet three days, so some work was done in Creator's Studio, while one day was spent in PIRL Terrace. The projects are really coming along now. Boe-Bot robots advance on their Arduino sketches. Boats are assembled using laser cut prototypes designed in Apple's Pages application, of all things. An Arduino driven RC Car is tested with new sketches. Light cube sides are sanded and boards are wired. An LED watch assembly receives the soldering of its components. Trebuchet pieces are drilled, cut and sanded.

Photo credits - Reynaldo Macias, 10-25-2013